Hang on Tight
by that one little guy
Summary: Ken and Wormmon both lost their memories of each other prior to the events of 02. Now Wormmon finds himself swept up in an opposition against the hated Digimon Emperor, even as he struggles to make sense of his past and to learn who the boy behind the glasses truly is.
1. To Courage

**A/N: **I should probably start you all out with a fair warning. This fic is _way _out of my comfort zone. Those of you familiar with my earlier stuff know that I write mostly humor, and my fics tend to feature either my own OCs or characters with no canon personality that I can infuse with whatever (clinically insane) personality I so choose. This fic will feature none of these things.

I'm writing it for two reasons. One, when you love somebody this much you're obligated to write a fic about them. And two, my philosophy for writing fics has always been to do things that nobody else has thought to do yet (I wrote a Zoombinis fic for goodness' sake), and as far as I'm aware, nobody else has written a multichapter fic that centers on Ken and Wormmon.

––

His first memory was of running.

His _very _first memory, mind you; his earliest days, whenever they had been, were such a confusing blur to him that he just couldn't make sense of them at all. As it was, the constant terrified running and hiding from the servants of the Digimon Emperor had been his life, his reality, for as far back as he could remember.

From what he gathered from the other Digimon who'd been around longer than he had, the Digital World hadn't always been like this; in fact, the Emperor had only really been around for a few months. But oh, what a few months they had been. Digimon had been captured and enslaved by the hundreds, taken away from their homes and friends. Somehow, the Emperor had the power to turn them into mindless servants, subservient to his every whim, going out and attacking the other Digimon, conquering the land in his name.

Nowhere in the Digital World was safe anymore.

Wormmon didn't actually know the first thing about the Emperor, except that he wasn't a Digimon at all, but a "human", whatever that was. Apparently they were creatures who lived in a whole other world, different from the one they were in now. He'd heard countless stories of other humans who had traveled to this world years ago, but they had been heroes who had saved it from destruction. Of course, not all Digimon were good, so it stood to reason that not all humans were good either… but on the other hand, no Digimon in living memory had been this utterly ruthless.

He often wondered what he would do if he ever found himself face to face with the Emperor… not that it mattered, since he'd probably wind up enslaved before he even had the time to try anything. The thought haunted him constantly. He wasn't strong or smart or fast enough to defend himself from such a monster; it was a wonder that he'd managed to evade his ringed slaves all this time. No, there was nothing he could hope to do against someone so powerful, so wicked… all he could do was keep running and hiding, living his life out day by day and praying with all his might that they would never cross paths.

His prayers were futile.

––

The day that would change his life didn't start out as anything special. As usual, all he'd done was emerge from his little hole in the ground to go off foraging in search of something to eat. Berries, seeds… it didn't take a lot to satisfy him. He was a humble little Digimon in every sense of the word, preferring to avoid confrontations and live quietly as much as he could. He came to this place every day to look for food; there weren't any Digimon living around here, and he didn't have to worry about defending himself.

He reached up into a bush and started chewing on some berries when there suddenly came a faint rustling from behind him. He instinctively froze up, wondering if he should run. Was something following him? If he didn't act quickly, whatever it was would be upon him and that would be the end of it.

Finally he decided it had just been a breeze and relaxed a little. Anyone else would have said he was being too jumpy, but he was that way out of necessity, really. He was just a little Rookie, and not a strong one at that. Pretty much any Digimon that wasn't at a Baby level was bigger and stronger than he was. It was really just best to treat everything as a potential danger. Because everything was.

So when he suddenly heard a bunch of screams and shouts coming from up above his head, he wasted absolutely zero time dashing behind a rock and hiding.

_What's going on? _He thought frantically as he peered out from behind the rock in the direction of the noise – it seemed to be coming from inside a high-up cave several yards away. _Nobody ever comes over here… oh, of all the rotten luck…_

Much to his dismay, the shouts seemed to be getting louder and closer. He slowly shrank back, wondering if he ought to just leave before it was too late – but then it _was _too late, as a bunch of screaming and panicking people suddenly came running out of the cave before dropping to the ground below.

It was a group of Digimon – well, no, that wasn't entirely true. _Some _of them were Digimon – he saw an orange reptilian one, a little white cat, a small flying one, and a blue dragon. But there were four others with them, and _they _were…

Could it be? Were they _humans? _They certainly fit the descriptions Wormmon had heard from other Digimon in the past, those who had been lucky enough to see humans before. Still, _he'd _never laid eyes on one before, and he found himself entranced as he stared after them.

What could they be running from? What were those Digimon doing with them? Were they good or bad?

His first question was answered quickly, anyway. From inside the cave came a deep rumbling, and then suddenly a ferocious Monochromon came bursting out, spewing fireballs from its mouth as it chased its quarry. Wormmon balked at the sight of it; its eyes were glowing bright red and it had a large Dark Ring around its midsection, telltale signs that it had been enslaved by the Digimon Emperor. He instinctively backed away several feet, knowing he should be running for his life, but his feet weren't listening to his brain right at that moment.

"Tai! TK!" cried one of the humans, the only female among them. She was sprawled on the ground and grabbing her ankle, looking like she'd injured it. The little cat Digimon was perched protectively on her shoulder and hissing at the Monochromon as it advanced on them, but it didn't look like there was much she could do. It didn't look like there was anything _any _of them could do, as their pursuer quickly forced them all together and backed them into a corner.

_I need to go… I need to run _now! Wormmon thought to himself. After all, how long was it going to take that Monochromon to lose interest in them and go after _him? _And yet still he found himself unable to move, unable to look away. He could somehow tell these humans, and the Digimon with them, were very important…

"Great… our first day back in the Digital World after _how _many years? And we're already toast!" cried the blond human as the Monochromon closed in on them.

"Davis, it's up to you!" shouted the blue dragon Digimon. "You have to use your courage! That's the only way we can win!"

The human he seemed to be addressing, an odd-looking boy wearing a jacket decorated with flames, looked at him in surprise. "My courage? What are you talking about, Veemon?"

"That Digiegg will answer to your courage! Just say 'Digiarmor energize' and I'll take care of the rest!"

The fiery boy winced against the Monochromon's pounding footsteps, then glanced worriedly back at the human girl sitting on the ground. "All right then… you want courage, I'll show you courage!" He held up something in his hand. "Digiarmor energize!"

Veemon was suddenly engulfed in a brilliant orange light, and when it died away, he'd suddenly transformed into a taller version of himself, covered in flame-decorated armor with a large horn growing on his head.

Wormmon blinked and stared. Was he seeing correctly? That Digimon just digivolved! But how? Ever since the Emperor had come into power, nobody was able to digivolve!

"I am Flamedramon, the fire of courage!" the new Digimon proudly announced.

At any rate, the fiery boy looked thrilled. "Did I just… do _that?_" he marveled. "_Awesome! _Let's teach this guy a lesson, Flamedramon!"

The other humans and Digimon could only watch in awe as Flamedramon leapt into the fray against the Monochromon, throwing a volley of fireballs out of his fists at the larger Digimon. Unfortunately, the Monochromon shook them off like they were nothing before throwing itself at its opponent, but Flamedramon was far faster and nimbler, easily leaping out of the way of the ferocious beast before continuing his attack.

For reasons he didn't really understand, Wormmon started growing afraid for the Flamedramon… not to mention those humans. What was going to happen if they lost? They were just defending themselves, weren't they? And from the looks of things, they had no other way of fighting back… and Wormmon knew from experience that the Emperor's slaves never backed down from their targets.

"Don't hurt him! Aim for that Dark Ring!" shouted the human girl. That was a surprising thing to hear; did those humans know the Monochromon was being controlled? Were they trying to help it?

At any rate, it didn't look like they would succeed. The Monochromon suddenly lashed out with its powerful tail, taking Flamedramon off guard and striking him right in the stomach. He gasped in pain as he was send skidding backwards across the ground. Wormmon winced; maybe he could pack a punch, but he couldn't take much punishment in return.

"Flamedramon!" cried the fiery boy as he tried to race over. Flamedramon was struggling to stand, but it didn't look like he would be fast enough. The Monochromon was already advancing on him to finish him off.

_No… not again… _Wormmon was horrified. He couldn't stand to watch this again, to watch more innocent people be hurt by the Emperor… he'd seen so much suffering already… he couldn't take this anymore –

A lot of surprising things had already happened that day, but what happened next surprised Wormmon the most of all.

"_Sticky Net!_"

A web of sticky thread shot out of his mouth, hitting its target right in the face and covering its eyes. The Monochromon roared in confusion as it shook its head and staggered around, vainly trying to get the web off its face. Everyone else stood back and looked stunned.

"…Hang on, what just happened here?" asked the blond boy.

"Who cares?! That guy's down for the count!" shouted the fiery boy. "Go get 'em, Flamedramon! Now's our chance!"

"You got it, Davis!" Flamedramon leapt up into the air, engulfing his entire body in flames before streaking down and slamming into the Monochromon. "_Fire Rocket!_"

He slammed right into the Dark Ring, causing it to shatter and fall to pieces. Instantly, the Monochromon stopped what it was doing, the red glow vanishing from its eyes as it came out of the Emperor's control.

"He did it!" exclaimed the tallest of the humans. "Way to go, Davis!"

"Yeah! At this rate, we'll have that Digimon Emperor on the ropes in no time!" the blond boy cheered as all the other Digimon celebrated as well.

Flamedramon gave off a flash of light before shrinking back into Veemon, his original form, only for Davis to run up to him and pick him up, swinging him around with a laugh.

"That was _awesome!_ Way to go, little guy, you took on that big nasty dude all by yourself!"

The human girl, on the other hand, seeming to be glancing away from all the celebrating and looking thoughtful. "I don't think so, Davis… I think we had a little help." Suddenly she starting walking over to something…

Wormmon had been so entranced by what just happened he'd forgotten he himself was even there – and so he instantly seized up in panic as he realized the girl was walking directly over to him. Everyone else present looked in her direction, surprised to see Wormmon for the first time. Suddenly, all eyes were on him.

The human girl knelt down in front of him, held her hand out to him and smiled invitingly.

"Hey there, little guy. Who are you?"

For one instant Wormmon was frozen in shock, in fear – and then he spun around and dashed away as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him.

Though he couldn't see, the girl stood where she was with her hand still outstretched, no longer looking cheerful, but sorely disappointed.

"Oh, no… where's he going off to?"

––

Far away from where the battle had taken place, in a dark and largely empty room, a lone figure shifted lazily in his seat as he pondered what he had just witnessed. The myriad computer screens lining the walls had just broadcasted the entire fight to him, and their light caused his glasses to flash conspiratorially as a smirk crept onto his face.

"Armor digivolution…" he said to himself. "So those kids actually found a way to bypass my Dark Digivice… talk about a lucky break for them. Still, this might prove to be more interesting than I thought…

"I may have finally found myself an actual challenge."

––

Wormmon kept on scurrying away through the leaves and bushes as fast as he could, without looking back, not wanting to be found by those humans. He didn't stop or slow down even as he grew certain he wasn't being followed, just kept running, trying to make sense of what had just happened to him.

He'd just stood up to a _Champion! _He, a lowly little Rookie who couldn't even digivolve! What on earth had possessed him to do a thing like that? He could've gotten himself killed! It was a miracle he was still alive…

It was those humans, he realized. The humans and their Digimon partners. They were in trouble; _that _was why he'd put himself in danger like that. They were in trouble and he wanted to help them…

But _why? _What if they were dangerous too? Why had he felt such a strong urge to help them, no matter how little he could do?

It wasn't until he'd scampered nearly all the way home until it finally occurred to him.

Those humans had freed one of the Emperor's slaves. They were fighting against him. They wanted the same thing as Wormmon: for the Digital World to be free of his cruel reign.

And maybe, just maybe, people like that were people that Wormmon didn't have to be afraid of.

––

**A/N: **I should mention one other thing. This fic is operating under the assumption that Ken forgot _everything _about his first time in the Digital World, including Wormmon – so that if Wormmon hadn't been there waiting for him when he returned, Ken would have no idea he existed.

Any and all feedback is welcome.


	2. To Trust

**A/N: **We're still not really diverging from canon with this chapter, but we will, I promise!

––

That night, Wormmon lay curled up in his small underground burrow with his usual array of nightmares.

It was always the same. He'd be running away, just like he always did in real life, except he wasn't actually getting anywhere no matter how hard he tried. He was stuck in one place, and so was powerless against the laughing form that suddenly rose up from behind him to tower over everything, blotting out all light… the Digimon Emperor.

Of course, Wormmon had no idea what he looked or sounded like, so he was always just a formless shadow with piercing red eyes and a low laugh that no human or Digimon could possibly make. In his dreams, Wormmon would balk in terror at the sight of him and try even harder to run away, but he just wouldn't make any distance. He'd have no choice but to brace himself against what the towering shadow was about to do to him… but he'd always scare himself awake before he could find out what it was.

Just like always, then, Wormmon's eyes flew open and he gasped, flailing around inside his little hole before calming down, forcing himself to remember that it was just a dream, that he was safe… for now. Anyway, the Emperor never came out at night; everyone knew that. He had no reason to be afraid right now.

With a melancholy sigh, he turned over and curled up as tightly as he could, trying to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come so easily. He was just too preoccupied with what had happened to him that day.

He still couldn't figure out why he'd been so drawn to those humans in the first place… but the more he thought about them, the more certain he became that they hadn't been a danger to him, and that maybe he shouldn't have run away. If they had been fighting against the Emperor, what reason could they possibly have to want to harm him?

And that Monochromon… he'd actually helped defeat it! He'd never in a million years have guessed he was capable of something like that… and if he hadn't run into those humans, it never would have happened. Did this mean he was stronger than he thought he was? That maybe there was something he could do against the Emperor's slaves after all?

His heart started pounding in excitement. Those humans must be coming back to the Digital World at some point… they'd been talking about fighting the Emperor like it was an ongoing thing. If they came back, did that mean he could help them again? Maybe they would need him… they'd needed him today, after all. Maybe it was his responsibility to help them again, however he could, for as long as it took…

Wormmon was surprised to find his resolve suddenly growing steely as, for the first time that he could remember, he came to a firm decision that didn't involve running away.

He would find those humans again.

––

Wormmon did a lot of running in his life by necessity. There were some nights when he couldn't even make it home; he'd be driven miles away by onslaughts of the Emperor's ringed slaves, forced to run for hours until he found himself quite hopelessly lost. Those nights he'd be forced to camp out in unfamiliar areas of the Digital World, and it wasn't until the following morning that he'd be able to begin the long trek back… just so long as he wasn't attacked again.

One of those nights had brought him here. It was a large clearing that contained a brick laid ziggurat, with a tall staircase leading up to a small interior chamber. This afternoon, Wormmon found himself returning to this spot, having set out at the crack of dawn to make it here.

He'd come back for a very good reason. The night he'd been forced to sleep inside the ziggurat, he'd seen two stone pedestals standing side by side, each one with a strange egg-shaped object resting on top of it. Yesterday, for the first time since then, Wormmon had seen something else like that – in fact, it had been the object that Davis, the fiery human boy, had used to make his Digimon digivolve.

_If Digimon need these things to digivolve, _he reasoned to himself as he crawled up to the base of the staircase, _then maybe those humans will come here looking for them? Then I can meet them again!_

It was as good a plan as any, and so he settled off to the side of the staircase, curling up to make sure he wasn't a visible target for the Emperor's army… and started to wait.

As the minutes ticked on by, Wormmon sat diligently where he was, waiting for the humans to appear. He had to be right, didn't he? Surely they would have to come here eventually… these strange objects seemed to be the only things that permitted digivolution so long as the Emperor was in control…

Eventually he started to let his mind wander, wondering what he'd say to the humans when he saw them again. He was determined _not _to run this time, no matter how scared he got; he wanted to learn more about them. He wanted to find out what they were doing in the Digital World, and why they all had Digimon with them. He would stay here, no matter what.

But as time dragged on longer and longer, it grew harder and harder for him to keep his focus, and he started growing tired. It occurred to them that even if the humans did come here eventually, it might not be today… it might not be for weeks, or months…

He snuggled up, deciding he might be in for a long wait… really, he had no idea if he was right or not… maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe he shouldn't be wasting his time waiting here… maybe… he should…

_CRASH!_

He jolted upright, flying several inches off the ground, just then realizing he'd drifted off to sleep. He looked frantically around for the source of the noise, then realized it had come from a large flying Digimon who'd just burst a hole through the roof of the ziggurat.

"_Careful, _Halsemon!" cried one of the two human girls riding on its back.

"My apologies, Yolei," it replied.

"Davis must be this way! Let's go!" shouted one of two human boys being held in the grip of a large yellow insectoid Digimon as it flew off after the other one. Wormmon jumped backwards, staring up in fascination as the two of them soared off into the distance along with the humans in their charge.

_They came here! They came and I fell asleep and missed it!_ he cursed himself. Well, he'd made it this far; he wasn't about to give up now, not when he might not get another chance to meet them.

Still, he realized with a sinking sensation, those two Digimon were going _much _faster than he was able…

_It's a good thing I'm so used to running_, he thought resignedly, quickly scampering off after them.

––

By the time he caught up with them, the action had already begun.

They were battling inside a large canyon; Flamedramon, along with the two Digimon he'd just seen, were each engaged in a one-on-one fight against one of the Emperor's slaves. Flamedramon was facing off against a Mojyamon, the yellow one was going after a Drimogemon, and Halsemon was locked in an aerial battle against a Snimon. The Emperor himself was nowhere to be found, for which Wormmon was quite grateful.

He scurried to the edge of the canyon and peered out at the battle unfolding before him. Halsemon was gracefully zooming back and forth with a funny-looking purple-haired human girl (Yolei, wasn't it?) riding on his back. Wormmon watched, overcome with awe and jealousy at how lithe and powerful Halsemon looked as he battled. Both he and the Snimon were firing attacks at each other in rapid succession, though each was flying around too quickly for the other one to hit…

Though that couldn't last forever.

"AIIYEEEEEEE!" Yolei shrieked as the Snimon's Twin Sickle attack struck Halsemon directly in the side, sending him flying backwards and crashing into the stone wall and causing Yolei to slide off his back, plummeting toward the ground below.

"Oh my goodness!" Wormmon reacted too quickly for his mind to catch up. "_Sticky Net!_"

Halsemon was too dazed and injured to help her, but Wormmon wasn't. An enormous sticky web, the biggest one he'd ever produced, shot out of his mouth and plummeted down past Yolei, catching itself between a large group of pointy rocks at the bottom and forming a thin, but strong and durable net.

"_Ack!_" Yolei gasped as she landed right on the net, which bent inward under her weight but didn't break. Once she realized she was safe, she turned over, looking at what had just saved her.

"What in the… what just _happened?_"

She didn't get to ponder that any further before a loud buzzing noise told her the Snimon was flying down after her. She gasped, but before it could do a thing, it was suddenly struck from the side by two bright red beams of energy from Halsemon, shattering the Dark Ring around its midsection.

"Phew… thanks, Halsemon," she sighed in relief as the Snimon came out of the Emperor's control and returned to its docile state. "What… what happened just now? I was just falling and… did _you _save me?"

"I'm afraid not, Yolei," Halsemon said as he landed on the ground next to her. "I believe that was someone else."

And with that, he glanced up at the top of the canyon. Yolei followed his gaze, and with a thrill of fear, Wormmon realized too late that both of them were staring directly at him.

"Oh… oh, dear."

––

Several minutes later, after the Digimon had finished releasing the Emperor's slaves and sending them on their way, everyone was gathered at the bottom of the canyon… including Wormmon. Yolei had insisted on bringing him down to the others to find out just who he was and what he was doing here. Wormmon recognized three of the humans who were here now: Davis, the blond boy, and the brunette girl. He'd never seen any of the others before.

At any rate, it was a good thing he'd already _promised _himself he wouldn't run away; as he looked around at every single person present staring at him in interest, he was finding it very, very hard to resist.

"So, Hawkmon says this little guy saved me when I was falling," said Yolei, looking down at him with her hands on her hips. "You guys don't have any idea who he is, do you?"

"Hey, I know you!" Davis exclaimed with a delighted smile on his face. "You're the little guy from yesterday! You helped me and Flamedramon!" He looked very impressed. "And you saved Yolei just now too, huh? Well, I dunno why you bothered doing _that_, but – "

"You wanna say that to my _face_, meathead?!" Yolei snarled, grabbing him by the collar.

The brunette girl shook her head and knelt down next to Wormmon. "Just ignore them," she said. "Anyway, it's nice to see you again. What's your name, little guy? Why'd you run away before?"

Wormmon stared back up at her, forcefully reminding himself she wasn't going to hurt him. "Oh… well… my name is Wormmon," he said timidly, glancing at the ground and fidgeting around. "I guess I ran away because… well… I was scared." Of course, he was _still _scared, if that wasn't obvious.

"Aww, there's no need to be scared of us! We're the _good _guys!" Davis boasted. "We're not gonna hurt you, we just wanna sock that Digimon Emperor!" He swung his fist demonstratively at the air.

The brunette girl giggled. "Well, you already met Yolei and Davis. My name is Kari, and this is TK and Cody," she said to Wormmon, gesturing to the two other boys at her side.

"I'm very honored to make your acquaintance, Wormmon. Thank you for helping my friends," said Cody, the youngest of the children, giving a respectful bow. Wormmon was quite taken aback; no one had even shown him that kind of respect before. He didn't exactly merit it.

"Oh… er… you're welcome," he said uneasily. Though he knew it was impolite, he blurted out the next thing before he could stop himself. "If you don't mind my asking… you're all humans, aren't you? What are you all doing in the Digital World?"

"Ah, well, see… we're what's called the Digidestined," TK spoke up, his orange winged Digimon perched happily on his head. "Not just any humans can go to the Digital World, but, well… this place is kind of our responsibility. It's our job to protect it, whether it's from evil Digimon…"

"…or jerks like the Emperor," Davis muttered. "Where does that guy get off, trying to turn Veemon into one of his slaves?! The next time I see him, I'm gonna…"

As he kept muttering to himself, Wormmon felt his nervousness around these children ever so slowly fade away, to be replaced by curiosity. "So… who are all these Digimon with you, then?"

"These are our partners!" Kari said cheerfully, stroking her Digimon on the head and earning a contented purr in response. "They're the ones who do most of the fighting, really. We humans don't really have any special powers like you Digimon, but we can help our partners grow and get strong through the special bond we share with them."

"That's right! Hawkmon and I only just met, but I can already tell we're gonna be the best partners ever!" Yolei declared, happily squeezing her Digimon to her chest. "Isn't that right, Hawkmon?"

"Er… absolutely," said Hawkmon, looking like he was having trouble breathing.

Wormmon gazed at them all in fascination. Digimon partnering up with humans to become stronger… he'd never heard of something like that. But if they were able to digivolve thanks to these humans, then maybe they stood a chance against the Emperor after all…

"Anyway, it's getting late. We should get going," said one of the two older humans who had been hanging back, a redheaded girl with a pink avian Digimon at her side. "I think we've all had enough excitement for one day."

Wormmon immediately grew concerned. "Wait… you're leaving?" he asked plaintively. "Where… where are you all going?"

The kids had been preparing to set off, but now Kari turned back to face him. "Back to the human world," she said. "That's where we live. We can't stay in the Digital World forever."

Wormmon frowned deeply. He'd just started to open up to these humans, just started to feel like he could trust them… and they had to leave already? "But you'll come back… won't you?"

"Of course we will. As long as the Emperor's still out there causing trouble, I feel like we're going to have to come back here quite a bit," TK said with a chuckle. "But it really is getting late. We'd better hurry back."

And just like that, all the kids and their Digimon set off through the canyon toward some unknown location, talking eagerly amongst each other and seemingly forgetting all about Wormmon. Only Davis turned to wave at him as they left.

"See ya around, Wormmon! Don't be a stranger, okay?"

Wormmon said nothing, just staring after them, rooted to the spot, as the entire group walked away without him, leaving him standing there all alone. Within a few moments, they'd all vanished into the distance, and yet still he was there, without anyone left to care what he did.

He kept on staring after them, his mind full to bursting with everything he'd just learned.

_Human children… the Digidestined… protecting the world from the Digimon Emperor… with their Digimon partners…_

He'd wanted to help them, and he had. And they'd thanked him, but… that was it. When all was said and done, he wasn't one of them. They'd left him, left to go be with their precious friends, their partners…

…and leaving him, for the first time in his life, feeling very much alone.


	3. To Safety

"YAHOOOOOO! This is _awesome!_" Davis cheered as he raced down the sidewalk away from Odaiba Elementary with Veemon's In-Training form, Demiveemon, in his arms. Momentarily he stopped and held up the little Digimon, spinning him around in the air. "You guys never said our Digimon got to come home with us! Man, Demiveemon, this is gonna be the best! I can show you my room and you can see all my games and my comic books and my sister and – well, no, don't meet my sister."

"Yeesh, Davis. You don't know the meaning of the word 'discreet', do you?" said Yolei as she held onto her own In-Training Digimon, Poromon.

"Remember, guys, you have to be _careful _about having your Digimon out in public," TK said as he pointed up at his Patamon, who was doing his very best to keep still as he perched on his partner's head. "If you have to have them out for everybody to see, it's better that you pretend they're stuffed animals or something. Most people still haven't really accepted that they exist."

Yolei frowned. "What… really? Even after the Odaiba Fog Incident from three years ago? How did people forget about that?"

"Nobody _forgot_, it's just… some people like to pretend it wasn't real."

Davis looked very upset at that. "Not _real?! _My sister and I were caught up right in the middle of that! And people are gonna act like it didn't even happen?!"

"What's the matter, Davis?" Demiveemon asked timidly from his place in his partner's arms.

"Davis, calm down," Cody said sternly, keeping a dutiful hold on his Upamon. "The fact is, most people can't accept that there's another world with creatures living in it that they don't know about. I'm still getting used to it myself. I think our job as Digidestined is as much about helping the Digimon as it is keeping their secret from people who aren't ready for it."

TK smiled down at him. "You sure are a smart kid, Cody."

"Yeah, fine," Davis sighed, stroking Demiveemon's ears absentmindedly. "But seriously, who _wouldn't _want to know about the Digital World? That place rocks!"

"Guys, let's talk about something else," Kari said pleasantly, her Gatomon stretched out lazily on her shoulders. "What do you guys think about Wormmon?"

Everyone turned to look at her. "Hmm? What about him?" asked Yolei.

"Well, he saved Davis yesterday, and he saved Yolei today… kind of funny he'd be in both places right when we needed him. Do you guys think maybe he's following us around?"

TK frowned. "Why would he be doing that?"

"Well, TK, it's not every day you see a human in the Digital World. You and I both know that," Kari giggled at him, causing TK to start looking flustered and Davis to start looking very irritated.

"ANYWAY, the little guy looked kinda lonely when we said goodbye to him just now," he said loudly, trying to get Kari's attention back on him. "What do you guys think? Maybe tomorrow we could go visit him or something!"

"Davis, we don't even know where he lives," Yolei reminded him.

"We don't have time to go off doing something like that. We need to find out as much as we can about the Digimon Emperor," said Cody, all business as usual.

Davis frowned. "Man, I _told _you guys! He's just a kid like the rest of us! I saw him! Taking down a little snot-nosed punk like that is gonna be a piece of cake."

"And yet you still managed to get caught by him," Yolei said with a smirk, prodding him in the side. "Oh and by the way, you're welcome for saving your sorry behind!"

"Okay, that's enough, you two," TK sighed, stepping in between them before they could break out in a fistfight. "We'll figure out what we're going to do about the Emperor tomorrow. Now we should all go home and get some rest."

"Yeah, whatever," Davis muttered, falling to the back of the group as they continued to walk down the sidewalk, though he immediately brightened up as he saw Kari fall back next to him.

"Don't worry about Wormmon, Davis. I'm sure we'll see him again… after all, he's always the one who finds us."

––

The Digimon Emperor was not in the best of moods.

Mostly because he wasn't out there doing what he loved most: enslaving Digimon and making them suffer as he laughed. He was currently seated in his control room, where he spent most of his time, reviewing the archived video footage of the past two days, studying these children who'd gotten it in their minds to oppose him.

First, there was the annoying boy in the goggles, the one he'd managed to capture yesterday before his friends had to swoop in and save the day. And now there was that geeky glasses girl and the short little brat… apart from all dressing like idiots, these kids had no business being in his Digital World.

It irritated him that they'd found a way to fight against him under his nose. They were all using this strange new method of digivolution he wasn't familiar with… he had to study this further. Surely there must be some way to modify his digivice so that it could block this evolution as well…

Even so, though, it shouldn't have been enough for those kids. Both yesterday and the day before, his slaves had put them on the ropes. He rewound and reviewed the footage again. What exactly had happened that had saved them both those times?

Something caught his eye, and he frowned. Pausing the video on the left, he noticed a small green blur in the corner of the screen right at the crucial moment of the battle against the Monochromon, when it had suddenly started staggering around and looking like there was something in its eyes. Then on the right, he saw a suspiciously similar green blur perched on the cliff above the girl, shooting something down after her as she fell off her Digimon.

Was it just him, or was that the same little green Digimon helping them out both times?

_How obnoxious_, he thought to himself, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. He hadn't counted on the other players getting help from NPCs in this game… and who was to say other Digimon wouldn't get ideas when they saw this one's example? These kids were getting to be tricky enough as it was…

It was time to nip this problem in the bud. He hadn't gotten this far by being complacent.

However resourceful that Digimon was, it looked far too small and pathetic to be a worthwhile slave… so there was only one thing to be done.

It would only take one Tyrannomon. Surely he could spare that much.

––

"BLAZE BLAST!"

Wormmon's eyes flew open to the sound and sensation of scorching heat directly above him.

Shrieking, he scrambled backwards and pressed himself against the dirt wall of his burrow, staring in horror at the roaring flames and rippling air he could make out from outside the entrance. He winced against the heat, and the moment the flames died away he frantically crawled up and stuck his head out of the hole, suspecting he'd be cooked alive if he stayed where he was…

There was a Tyrannomon standing directly over him… a Tyrannomon with glowing red eyes and a Dark Ring around its neck.

Wormmon nearly fainted where he stood, but the Tyrannomon didn't even give him time to do it. It shot another Blaze Blast at him, and he screamed and dived out of the way at the last instant, scurrying off through the trees and the bushes. The Tyrannomon immediately gave chase, indiscriminately spewing fire at any tree or branch that got in the way of its quarry.

"Wait! Stop! Please!" Wormmon cried, but of course his pursuer paid him no heed, if it could even understand him. It stomped after him with a mighty roar, lashing out with its powerful tail and striking a decaying tree branch, causing it to topple over and crash directly in front of Wormmon's path. Wormmon scurried to a stop and made a hard left turn, only for the Tyrannomon to stomp directly in front of him, blocking his path.

"Sticky Net!" Wormmon defended himself the only way he could, shooting out a thick sticky web from his mouth, but the Tyrannomon knocked it away with a swipe of its hand. Feeling his heart sink, Wormmon spun around and took off in the opposite direction as the enormous Champion shot another blast of fire at him. Feeling its heat on his back, he swerved wildly to the right at the last second, causing the fire to strike the ground and sending the surrounding grass and trees up in flames.

_He's burning the forest down_, Wormmon realized with a slow dawning horror. _My home… this can't be happening…_

The fires the Tyrannomon had started were rapidly spreading, turning their surroundings into an inferno. Wormmon's eyes began to water from the smoke filling the air, and he coughed violently as he ran, but the Tyrannomon's pounding footsteps told him he still hadn't gotten away. His only advantage was that he was small and fast while the Tyrannomon was slow and stupid, but that wouldn't be any help if he couldn't even tell where he was running.

"Please… stop…" he whispered, cringing against the heat and the flying embers striking him in the face. He was overcome by wild fear, his mind filled with nothing but the instinct to run. He had no idea how long he ran, nor did he notice the Tyrannomon suddenly stopping its pursuit and falling back as it received some unheard order. Still he kept running, long after he'd outrun the fire, just kept on running blindly ahead, his vision blurred by hysterical tears.

_The Emperor… why has he done this to me?_

_––_

"All riiiiight! Here we are, back in the Digital World!" Davis cheered as he and the others were walking along. "Now let's get out there and – woah. Uh, guys… is that supposed to be happening?"

Everyone turned and looked where he was pointing, wearing an uncharacteristically worried expression. Off in the distance was an enormous cloud of black smoke, billowing up from somewhere deep in the forest.

Gatomon immediately grew stiff. "We're not safe here."

"Is that – it's a forest fire!" said TK, eyes wide. "Guys, I think we'd better – "

He didn't get to finish before a small green figure came bursting out of the bushes, screaming at the top of its lungs with panicked tears running down its face.

Davis spun around. "What in the – _Wormmon?_"

"Davis! Davis!" Wormmon screamed, barreling toward him, shimmying up his leg and clinging fearfully to his shoulder before the gogglehead could even react. Davis whipped around and tried to figure out what was going on, but the little caterpillar was crying too hard to even form a coherent sentence.

"Wormmon! Wormmon, are you all right?" Kari cried, running up to him as Davis was flailing around and trying to keep his balance. "Were you running from that fire? Wormmon, what's going on?"

"I'll _tell _you what's going on," came a voice that did not belong to anyone present – a dark, dangerous voice. "You kids are protecting a traitor and a fugitive. If you know what's good for you, you'll hand him over right now."

Wormmon timidly opened his eyes at the sound of the voice, sensing Davis and the others growing tense and turning to face it… and then his eyes grew far wider as a holographic figure materialized several feet away from them, revealing a humanoid form clad in darkness. Everyone present instantly realized they were looking at the Digimon Emperor.

Now, at last, Wormmon had a face to give to his nightmares.

The Emperor seemed to be about the same age as the other human children… not that it made him any less terrifying. He stood with a regal, imperious air, one that exuded utter self-confidence and offered no room whatsoever to challenge his authority. He was dressed in a blue and white jumpsuit with black metal-clasped gloves and a long, bifurcated cape draped over his shoulders. His hair was wild and spiky, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark tinted shades, creating the impression that trying to look into them would be like staring into an abyss.

Wormmon had thought he'd been a nervous creature before. But he'd never known true terror until now. He couldn't look away, shaking so hard he thought he might fall off Davis's shoulders. That wasn't helped when Davis suddenly clenched his fists and took a step forward.

"_You_," he spat. "What the heck did you just try to do to Wormmon, you big jerk?!"

"Now, now… don't act so innocent," said the hologram, a smirk drawing across its face. "If you should be blaming anyone, it's yourselves. _You're _the ones trespassing in my world without my permission. If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have to punish him for helping you."

"You tried to _kill _him?! Just for _helping _us?!" Yolei cried, wearing the same mortified expression as everyone else, even as they all realized this meant the Emperor had _seen _Wormmon helping them both times. Just how far did his influence extend, anyway?

"And why not? I see no reason why I can't deal with any Digimon in this world as I see fit," said the Emperor. "I'm just sending a message. _No _Digimon who gets it in their minds to help you kids will escape punishment. What kind of emperor would I be if I couldn't control my subjects?"

"Digimon are _not _your _subjects!_" TK shouted at him, growing red in the face. "_Nothing _gives you the right to come in here and do these things to them!"

"Is _that _so?" the Emperor said snidely, in a tone of voice that suddenly made all the kids feel like socking him in the face. "And who are you to say such things? As far as I'm concerned, _you're _the ones with no right to be here. Only perfect humans such as I should be allowed in the Digital World." The smugness suddenly left his voice, replaced by a steely coldness. "You're all trespassing where you don't belong. Turn over the bug and get out of here before I lose my patience."

"Get real! We'll never listen to you!" Patamon shot back.

"Not on your life!" Gatomon snarled.

"I had a feeling you'd make this difficult," the Emperor sighed theatrically, and then suddenly his hologram vanished. Before the group could wonder where he'd gone, there suddenly came a number of loud, crashing footsteps from all around them… and then a grand total of _five_ Tyrannomon, each one wearing a Dark Ring, came crashing out of the trees, completely surrounding them. The real, flesh-and-blood Emperor himself was standing on the shoulder of the one in the center, and Wormmon instantly recognized it as the one who had chased him over here.

"Maybe _this _will help persuade you?" the Emperor sneered. "Tyrannomon, attack!"

"I'm not likin' the looks of these odds…" Cody's Armadillomon said timidly as the ferocious Champions advanced on them.

"Come on, guys, we can't just do nothing! Let's get in there and fight!" Davis shouted. Yolei and Cody nodded firmly, and all three children held up their respective Digieggs, transforming their Digimon into their Armored forms.

The clash that followed was chaotic and terrifying, at least from Wormmon's perspective. After all, the only thing he could do was cling tightly to Davis and pray the other Digimon could save them, cursing himself inwardly for his uselessness, remembering how ineffective he'd been against the one Tyrannomon. If only there was something he could do… the others were risking their lives to help him… all of this was his fault…

He was so wrapped up in that that he never even noticed TK, Kari, and their Digimon getting separated from the others amid the confusion… and neither, it seemed, did Davis, at least until two new Digimon suddenly flew onto the scene.

"Woah! Who are those guys?" the gogglehead gasped.

"That's Pegasusmon and Nefertimon! They must be Patamon and Gatomon's Armor digivolutions!" said Flamedramon. "We've got this fight in the bag now, everyone!"

Sure enough, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon suddenly produced a noose of shining golden light that they wrapped around the Tyrannomon, immobilizing them, and then all it took was a few shots of their own attacks to destroy the Dark Rings around their necks. Everyone sighed in relief as the Tyrannomon returned to normal, recognizing they'd won this round…

But much to their annoyance, the Digimon Emperor was nowhere to be found. It seemed he'd fled the battle long ago.

––

Recognizing there was nothing they could do about the forest fire, the group quickly moved upwind where the flames couldn't reach them. As they stood on a low cliff and grimly watched the smoke, all of them had the same thing on their minds.

"That Digimon Emperor… look at what he's done," Davis growled, grinding his fist into his palm. "I just wanna wipe that grin off his face!"

"I'm liking this guy less and less the more we learn about him," TK muttered. "He's enslaving and hurting all the Digimon, _and _he can keep ours from digivolving? He's like some kind of _anti_-Digidestined!"

"Come to think of it… does _he _have a Digimon partner?" Yolei said thoughtfully.

"Why _should _he?" said Cody. "It's not like he's one of us. He doesn't belong in this world."

"But he _does _have a digivice…" said Kari, thinking uneasily back to the pitch black, modified digivice in his hand that somehow had the disturbing power to suppress evolution.

"Yeah? He probably stole it from somebody! Some kid who _deserves _it!" Davis said in a huff.

The only one who wasn't looking out at the smoke was Wormmon. He was standing several feet away from the others, gazing miserably at the ground. He still hadn't fully accepted what had happened to him… he couldn't even begin to understand what it all meant.

_Whatever they say, this is all _my _fault_, he thought. _The fire… the Tyrannomon… it's all because the Emperor wanted me. And my new friends… they're in danger, all because of me._

He started tearing up again. _All I wanted was to live away from the Emperor, somewhere safe… why? Why did this have to happen to me?_

Momentarily, the others seemed to realize Wormmon wasn't standing with them, and they all turned around to gaze over at him with sobered expressions.

"I can't believe that guy… going after Wormmon just because of us," Yolei said softly.

"I've never heard of anything so despicable," Cody muttered, a grim look on his face. Armadillomon gently nuzzled his leg, sensing his partner was getting upset.

Finally, Davis walked over and knelt down next to Wormmon, gently pulling him into his lap. He knew he should say something… but he couldn't think of anything that would help. He wasn't used to consoling people.

"Wormmon… hey, Wormmon… come on, buddy, it's not that bad…"

"Yes… yes it is!" Wormmon choked out through his tears. "My home is gone! I can't go back… I don't have anywhere to live anymore… and the Emperor, he wants to… I'm not _safe _anymore!" He finally broke down sobbing and huddled as close to Davis as he could, desperate to be comforted. He should never have left his burrow that one day… never have tried to help the Digidestined. He should have done the smart thing and run away the moment he saw them. Everything new, everything unknown was just a danger…

"He has a point, though," Kari said softly. "If the Emperor's targeted him, there's really nowhere safe for him…"

Strangely, Davis suddenly brightened up.

"What're you talking about? Of course there is!" He looked down at the little caterpillar Digimon. "Wormmon! You can stay at _my_ place!"

"**WHAT?!**" screamed everyone else present… except Wormmon, who was suddenly gazing up at Davis with lights dancing in his eyes.

"Oh, really, Davis?" he cried in delight, not seeming to notice everyone else looking utterly mortified.

––

**A/N: **What with all the fire-breathing Digimon we have, it's a wonder that forest fires aren't more common… anyway, hope this part was a bit more exciting.


	4. To Dreams

**A/N: **Many many thanks to Disgraceful Duckling for agreeing to beta this fic.

––

"This is a really bad idea, Davis. I'm just saying because I'm trying to help… Davis, are you listening to me?"

The five Digidestined children, along with their partners (and Wormmon, at Davis's insistence) had traveled all the way back to the small television set up near the forest that would transport them back to the real world… and Davis and TK hadn't stopped arguing the entire way back.

"I'm telling you, you're not thinking this through. You realize you have to give him enough food and a place to sleep and everything, right? Are you _positive _you can commit to this?"

Davis just gave an unconcerned shrug. "Dude, I already got one Digimon living with me. What's one more?"

"I'm surprised you haven't messed up with the one yet," Yolei quipped. "But I really think it'll be fine, TK. If Davis says he'll do something, then he'll do it. He's way too bullheaded not to."

"I _know _that, it's just…"

Wormmon was hanging back silently, watching this exchange with unease, acutely aware that he was the reason they were arguing. He hated that his presence was causing them so much trouble, after everything they'd done for him… he would have just left them then and there if he could have, but he really did have nowhere else to go…

"…and I know you mean well here, but I really, really, really, really… _really _wish you would reconsider," TK was saying in the meantime.

Davis was clearly losing his patience. "What's to reconsider?! Come on, you guys heard the Emperor! It's our fault he went after the little guy. And besides, Wormmon helped us! Doesn't that mean we gotta help him back?"

"I agree he's our responsibility, but…" TK paused slightly, seeming to come to a decision about something. "If he's going to stay with one of us… I'd rather it be me."

Everyone stared at him.

"_You?!_" Davis looked affronted. "And why's him staying with you so much better than him staying with me, TB?!"

"_Because, _Davis, I've been a Digidestined a lot longer than you have," TK reminded him. "You've only even had Veemon a few days. I'm not sure you really understand how hard it can be to take care of a Digimon. Let alone two at the same time…"

"I think TK is right. Wormmon should stay with someone who knows what they're doing," said Cody.

"Oh _come on, _Cody! You're gonna throw me under the bus too?" Davis threw up his arms. "How come nobody here even trusts me? I swear, I can't even turn around without one of you guys taking a crack at me! What's it gonna take for me to…"

Davis, TK, Yolei and Cody continued arguing heatedly back and forth over who should take care of Wormmon and why, leaving their Digimon to stand back and watch with blank faces.

"I've never seen them go at it like _this _before," said Patamon.

"I get the feeling this won't be the last time," Veemon sighed.

"I say, Wormmon, are you all right?" asked Hawkmon, who had noticed the little caterpillar curled up with his head lowered in misery. Of course, it was clear he wasn't all right; the look on his face said it all. He just wanted everyone to stop getting angry and fighting over him. He wasn't worth it.

Finally, Kari seemed to have had enough of the fighting as well. "Guys?" she said patiently as she cut in between TK and Davis, with a tone of voice that suggested she'd had to do the same thing many times in the past. "Why don't we let Wormmon decide where he wants to stay? _He's _the one being affected by this, after all."

Wormmon lifted his head up in surprise as everyone turned to look at him.

"Hmm… I guess you're right, Kari. That's probably only fair," said TK, looking a little guilty for not having realized it before. "Okay, Wormmon. I guess it's up to you."

Wormmon said nothing, just looking back and forth between the two boys as they waited for him to come to his decision. He suddenly felt quite overwhelmed, and very nervous. Where _should _he stay? What if he made the wrong choice?

On the one hand, TK did seem a lot more responsible… but for whatever reason, Wormmon felt a lot safer around Davis. He just seemed so sincere, and so protective of him, even though he wasn't his partner. He was the most gung-ho about stopping the Emperor, which could mean more safety for Wormmon.

More than anything else, though, Davis was the one who treated him the most like an equal.

"I'd like to stay with Davis, if that's okay."

TK immediately lowered his head and sighed as Davis balled his fists and grinned. "_Awesome!_ Don't worry about a thing, Wormmon, me and Veemon'll look after you just fine! It'll be great! We can play video games and watch TV and…"

"This is _so _bad," TK groaned softly as Davis continued rambling.

"It's okay, TK. _I _still want to stay with you," Patamon said commiseratively, flying up to him and perching loyally on his shoulder.

TK didn't look much happier. "Thanks, Patamon…"

"Okay! Now that that's settled, let's get going!" said Davis, whipping out his digivice. "Wormmon, come on up here. You ever been to the human world before?"

"Uh-uh," Wormmon said as he crawled up next to the gogglehead.

"Well I'd grab onto something if I were you, 'cause you're in for a wild ride!" Davis pointed his digivice right at the television screen. "_Digiport open!_"

Suddenly, everyone standing around the television was enveloped in a flash of light coming from the screen… and Wormmon gasped as he felt himself being pulled inside the set.

He tried to scream as he was whisked along through some nonphysical realm, no longer physical himself, merely a stream of data being carried from one location to the next. Everything rushed by him in a blur, and he had no idea where everyone else was. He started to panic as he zoomed past a series of shapes of flashing lights, losing all his sense of self, praying for it all to be over…

Then finally, he came flying out of another screen and crashing to the ground along with everyone else, tumbling across the floor.

"Ooooh…" he moaned as he came to a stop, his head still spinning. Was that what it was always like traveling between the two worlds? It certainly wasn't very fun…

"Ugh… that never gets any less unpleasant," Yolei grumbled from where she and the other children were sprawled on top of each other in a pile. As they detached themselves from each other, Wormmon looked around and realized he was in a large indoor room filled with computers, each one with its own chair. Apparently they'd just come flying out of one of those computers. Not only that, but he noticed Davis, Yolei and Cody were suddenly all wearing different outfits than they'd been a moment ago… and their Digimon had all reverted back to their In-Training levels as well.

"Well, we're here. I hope we didn't stay too late with the forest fire and everything," TK sighed, getting up and stretching. "Oh, good, Wormmon's here. I thought maybe he wouldn't be able to…"

He suddenly broke off, and Wormmon realized he was regarding him strangely.

"Hmm… that's interesting…"

Wormmon looked up at him. "What is?"

"It's just… you're still a Rookie," said TK. "Our Digimon have to go back to In-Training level when they go to the real world… except Patamon and Gatomon, but that's because they did a lot of fighting in the past and built their strength up." He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow at the little caterpillar. "Have you been in a lot of fights we don't know about, Wormmon?"

Wormmon found himself very confused and flustered at the question. "W-what?" he said timidly. "I… no… I've never done anything like that…" He hadn't, had he?

Much to his surprise, TK suddenly burst out laughing and pat him on the head. "I'm just kidding, Wormmon. No need to get so worked up!"

Wormmon blinked. "Oh… okay then…" he said uneasily. TK was telling him to calm down, but the honest truth was, there was something about the blond boy that just made him nervous. For one thing, he was so confident, which just made Wormmon's insecurities stand out all the more… but more than that, he was knowledgeable. He seemed to know far more about the Digital World than Wormmon did, and he'd _lived _there. That wouldn't have been so bad, but Wormmon's experience had taught him that the more knowledge people had, the more they could use it against helpless people like him. Just look at the Emperor…

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Davis sighed, adjusting his goggles. "Guess I'll see you guys here tomorrow, then? Same time, same place?"

"You bet! I can't wait to go back tomorrow and teach that Emperor a thing or two!" said Yolei, swinging her fist around with a determined look. TK and Kari giggled, while Cody seemed quite unmoved.

"Awesome. Come on, Wormmon, let's go!" said Davis, opening his backpack up wide for the little Digimon. "You can ride in here. I dunno if I can hold you and Demiveemon at once. Might get uncomfortable."

"Oh… okay," said Wormmon, obediently crawling into the backpack. Davis zipped it shut, though he left a large hole open for his passenger. Then the kids set out, leaving the school and heading back to their homes after a long day of work.

From his place inside Davis's backpack, Wormmon curiously peeked out and looked around, getting his first look at the human world. There certainly were a lot more buildings than he was used to, and a lot fewer trees. There were a whole lot of cars on the roads as well; there certainly weren't many of _those _in the Digital World. And of course, there were all manner of humans walking around up and down the streets, young and old, male and female. Still, it was so strange to see just one species out and about like this. Wormmon was used to seeing all types of Digimon from day to day.

Finally, Davis stopped at a large apartment building and opened one of the doors. Further interested, Wormmon realized this must be where Davis lived. He'd never seen a human home before, but it was certainly far huger and more lavish than his little hole in the ground. He didn't even have time to take in all the lights and the furniture before Davis turned down a hallway and opened another door, entering his room.

"Phew. Made it home without a hitch," he said proudly, plopping his backpack down on the bed and kicking his shoes off. "Okay, Wormmon, we're here. Come on out!" he said cheerily. Wormmon was just in the process of doing so when…

"DAVIS!"

"Ack! Gobackingobackingobackin!" Davis suddenly shoved Wormmon's head back in the backpack before the caterpillar could even react. Stunned, Wormmon shook his head and cautiously peeked out in time to see Davis spin around to greet the teenage human girl who'd just thrown the door open.

"Oh, uh… hiya, Jun. What's up?"

"Davis, don't even try to act innocent!" the girl snapped at him. "This is the third day in a row you've come home late without saying anything! Where the heck have you been _going? _You realize Mom and Dad are going to get mad at _me _if anything happens to you, right?"

"Oh, right…" Davis's mind was clearly racing, something it wasn't very used to. "Well, actually, I just… joined the computer club."

The girl stared at him. "You joined the computer club."

"Yeah! Totally! Ask my friends, they'll vouch for me!"

"Davis, that's the worst lie you've ever come up with. You barely even know how to _turn on _a computer!"

"Well, yeah! And what better way to learn more than to join the afterschool club, right?"

The girl looked exasperated. "_Ugh. _Forget it. I don't even care." She spun around and stormed off. "Just don't do anything stupid, or it's my head on the chopper!"

After she'd vanished down the hall, Davis exhaled loudly before turning to open up the backpack again.

"Okay, Wormmon, all clear."

Wormmon cautiously crawled out of the backpack as Demiveemon poked his head out from under the bed where he'd apparently been hiding. Davis collapsed onto the bed with a tired groan. "Sorry about that, you guys. That was just my sister Jun."

Wormmon cocked his head slightly. "What's a sister?"

"Hmm?" Davis looked surprised at the question. "That means we have the same parents…" He paused, looking like something was just occurring to him. "Oh, right. TK said… Digimon don't have parents, right? You guys just hatch out of eggs…"

While Davis had been talking, Demiveemon had already crawled over and plopped down on his partner's stomach, wiggling around in a wordless request to be pet. Davis quickly obliged, stroking the little In-Training behind the ears and causing him to sigh in delight, stretching out with a thoroughly contented look on his face.

Watching this interplay of affection between the two, Wormmon began to understand why Davis had been chosen to be a Digidestined. While he may have been quick-tempered, and maybe not as astute as TK… or Cody… or any of the others, really… he was undoubtedly a good person.

"So hey, Wormmon… speaking of that. When were you born, anyway?"

Wormmon immediately grew stiff. Davis had just unknowingly breached one of the most sensitive subjects of all to him: the fact that he couldn't remember a thing about his birth. He knew he'd come out of an egg, of course, but only because that was how it was with all Digimon. It wouldn't have been so bad that he didn't remember, except for the fact that every other Digimon seemed to remember their birth perfectly well. When Wormmon tried to think back, though, nothing came to him. It was just another thing that weighed on him. He was an anomaly; he was different. And it shamed him.

He realized Davis was still waiting for an answer.

"I… I don't know," he finally whispered, gazing down at the bedspread.

"Hmm?" Apparently he'd spoken too softly for Davis to hear.

He lifted his head back up. "I don't know," he repeated, marginally less softly. "I don't remember."

"You don't?" Davis looked surprised, and that just made it hurt all the more to Wormmon. He'd never wanted to talk about this. It ate at him day in and day out, and Davis had to bring it up…

_It's not his fault. He doesn't know._

"So what _do _you remember?" Davis asked.

Wormmon glanced away again. "Running," he said, somewhat evasively. "I've always just been running away from the Digimon Emperor's slaves. That's as far back as I can remember."

"Oh." Davis looked at him long and hard. What a sad little creature this was… it was a good thing they'd found him. Maybe they could help him somehow.

He shrugged, trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit. "Oh, well. I guess I can't remember being born either. I just thought it was different with Digimon."

Wormmon decided not to say anything.

"It's okay, Wormmon," Demiveemon suddenly spoke up, sliding off Davis's stomach. "I don't remember when I was born either."

Now that was something… "What? You don't?" said Wormmon, turning to him in shock.

"Yeah, I don't think Hawkmon or Armadillomon do either. The first thing we really remember is coming out of those Digieggs and meeting our partners." He shrugged and rolled around a little. 'But I just _know _I was waiting for Davis! For a really long time!" He giggled. "I was so happy when he found me."

Wormmon kept on staring at him. Did he even realize he might have been missing part of his life? Wormmon wondered how he could possibly be so glib about it… but finally just shook his head and said nothing. That was what made him the perfect partner for Davis, it seemed…

Davis had to leave his room not too long after that; his "parents" (there was that word again; Wormmon still didn't really know what it meant) were coming home, and he had to help set up for dinner. He explained to Wormmon that he and Demiveemon had to stay hidden in his room at all times; apparently, none of the other humans he lived with knew anything about Digimon. So while Davis was away, Demiveemon took the opportunity to stretch out on the bed and nap, leaving Wormmon all alone with his thoughts.

Several hours later, Davis pushed the door to his room open again, carrying a plate full of food he'd apparently managed to sneak away from the dinner table. "All yours, guys," he said, placing it on the bed as Demiveemon cheered and started shoveling it down without a second thought. Startled, Wormmon crawled up and began inspecting the food cautiously before taking a tentative bite himself.

To his surprise, it was _delicious._

Within moments, he was chowing down right along with Demiveemon. He'd never had human food before, and he'd never imagined it would be so good! All the berries he was used to eating in the Digital World seemed so bland and downright intolerable in comparison.

Davis just stood back and grinned. "See? I _do _know how to take care of Digimon. What does TR think he knows?"

As the Digimon were eating, Davis sat down at the desk behind his bed and pulled the books out from his backpack, beginning to, as he called it, "do his homework". Wormmon didn't know what that meant either, but Davis didn't seem to enjoy it at all; it seemed to entail reading through the books while writing things down in a notebook, grumbling and muttering and looking thoroughly fed up all the while. Wormmon wondered why Davis was doing it if it was bothering him so much.

"_Okay! _Done with that!" he finally said some time later, flipping his books over. "Now whaddaya say we have some fun, huh guys? It's Wormmon's first night over and we gotta make sure he has a good time. Let's play a game!"

"Yay! Yay! Yay! A game!" Demiveemon cheered, bouncing up and down on the bed. With a cheeky grin, Davis opened up a drawer in his desk and pulled out a pack of cards.

"We can't do anything too loud or else we'll get found out. But this'll still be fun!"

The three of them seated themselves down in a circle on the floor and started playing, with Davis explaining the rules as they went. The cards were all spread out facedown in a circle, and they would go around picking up one card and placing it face up in the center of the circle. Whenever anyone placed a card that was the same suit or rank as the card below it, everyone had to slap the cards in the middle as fast as they could, and whoever was slowest had to add all the cards to their hand. The winner was whoever had the fewest cards at the end.

"Man, I'm creaming you guys," Davis gloated near the end. Sure enough, Wormmon and Demiveemon both had a large number of cards while he had barely any.

"You're cheating, Davis. You've got long arms," Demiveemon pouted.

"Hey, _you _get to shoot fire out of your hands, little guy. Don't complain," Davis countered as he drew the six of spades and placed it down in the center. "Okay Wormmon, your turn."

"Erm…" Wormmon gingerly reached for one of the very few cards left in the circle, drew it, and placed it down in the center. Much to his shock, it was the six of diamonds.

"Oh my goodness!" he gasped, throwing himself on the cards as fast as he could as he felt Demiveemon belly flopping on top of him.

Davis blinked. "Hey, what just happened?"

"Davis loses! Davis loses!" Demiveemon sang. "You have to take alllllll the cards!"

"What?!" Davis had been winning, but if he had to take all those cards he was the loser! "Now wait a sec! Who's cheating now? You guys can't just _jump _on the cards!"

"_Davis loses!_" Demiveemon kept on singing, rolling around and spreading the cards all over. Finally he crashed into Davis's leg, and the gogglehead couldn't be mad anymore. They both fell to the floor and started laughing hysterically, covered in playing cards flying everywhere.

Wormmon stood and watched, silent as a stone.

Finally Davis stopped laughing and noticed Wormmon just standing there, not joining in. The smile quickly fell from his face.

"Hey… you okay, Wormmon?"

"Oh… yes… I'm fine," Wormmon said softly. "I'm sorry." He didn't want to say anything, but as he'd been watching the two of them, he'd started to feel the traces of some unhappy emotion stirring up inside of him. They were so close… he wanted so badly to be their friend, but he didn't think he'd ever feel that close to them.

Davis sighed and sat back up, giving Wormmon another thoughtful look. "I guess… you're not a lot like me and Demiveemon, are you?"

Wormmon stared at him. "Is that bad?"

"No! No way. It's totally fine, Wormmon. You should just be yourself and not let anybody tell you it's wrong." He smirked, rocking back and forth on his heels a little. "Plus, I know Jun would say that even _one _of me's too much."

As usual, Wormmon didn't really know what Davis was talking about.

"I was just thinking… I hope it's okay with _you_, Wormmon," Davis went on. "I mean, sometimes I feel like you're not really comfortable around us. Like, we're too loud for you. You like the quiet, don't you?"

"I guess…" Wormmon shook his head. "But it's fine, Davis. I like you, I really do. Nobody's ever been this nice to me."

Davis grinned. "That's great! Well, I mean… it's not great that nobody else has been nice to you. You're a really sweet guy, Wormmon. I think you deserve a lot better than what you've got."

Wormmon was stunned. Time and again, he was taken aback by how much Davis wore his heart on his sleeve and said whatever was on his mind, no matter how blunt. It was honestly a bit unnerving… Wormmon supposed he should be grateful that Davis had nothing but good things to say about him.

"I… thank you."

It was getting late, so it was at that time that Davis started changing into his pajamas and getting ready for bed. He promised Wormmon that they'd go back to the Digital World tomorrow, so he wouldn't have to leave his home behind forever. Hopefully, he said, once they'd dealt with the Emperor, Wormmon would be able to move back where he belonged permanently.

Wormmon was thankful, but deep down, he couldn't help but wonder how likely it was that the Emperor would _ever _be taken down, even with the Digidestined fighting against him. He was just too powerful…

And Wormmon was too small and weak to do anything about it.

Davis flicked off the light, curled up in his bed with Demiveemon at his side, and dropped off to sleep in a matter of minutes. Wormmon had relegated himself to the very foot of the bed, where he wouldn't get in anybody's way. He didn't deserve to sleep up there with Davis; that was Demiveemon's place, and he would never intrude anywhere where he didn't belong.

Wormmon lay where he was for a long while, gazing over at the two partners curled up together, snoozing away without a care, looking so content. He remembered how the two of them laughed together, played together, goofed around together in such a natural way that he would never understand. He couldn't imagine either of them being partnered with anybody else. Davis loved and cared for his partner, and in return, Demiveemon grew stronger and protected him. Everything about it was perfect.

As he watched them, he felt that same unpleasant feeling from before start to come back… and now, all of a sudden, he realized what he was feeling.

Jealousy.

Why couldn't _he _have a human partner of his own? Someone who could help him to digivolve just like the others? Then he could get stronger, and he could help fight against the Digimon Emperor!

But it would never happen, he thought sadly. Digimon went with their partners for a reason. They were meant to be a good match. Surely there was no human out there who could ever make use of a worthless little thing like him.

And so he wearily closed his eyes, not knowing what else to do except what he always did, and resign himself to his sadness.

––

Wormmon was expecting to have the same dark dreams as always that night. The dream he ended up having was quite different.

He was somewhere very pleasant – a meadow, it seemed, with swaying green grass and dotted with little flowers. He must have been in the Digital World. The sun was shining down, the digital clouds were puffy and white, and somehow even in his dream state he could tell the temperature was perfect.

And there was someone with him.

Dreams are often vague, as was this one. Wormmon couldn't really make out anything about the other person; they were more of a felt presence than anything. Still, Wormmon got the sense that the person was a human boy… a very young one, only about Cody's age.

Then suddenly, Wormmon was laughing and playing with the human boy. They were racing through the meadow as the grass rippled in the breeze and the sun warmed their bodies, and then they were both on the ground, rolling around in the flowers and giggling as the blades of grass tickled at their skin. And then the next thing Wormmon knew, the human boy had turned over and reached for him, pulling him into his arms in a safe, loving embrace.

"_I love you, Wormmon_."

Wormmon instantly jolted awake, gasping in shock.

It took him a moment to register his still-unfamiliar surroundings and remember where he was. Davis's room… he lifted his head up and glanced over to where he thought Davis and Demiveemon were in the darkness, wondering if he'd woken them up, but he could still hear them both snoring loudly away.

Finally he lowered his head onto the bedspread again, pondering what had just happened.

What a strange dream… why would his brain conjure something like that out of the air? It must have somehow been brought on by the events of the day… was that Davis in his dream? No, it hadn't felt like him… that boy, that presence, whoever he was, had felt so gentle, so nurturing, so loving…

Wormmon remembered what the boy had said to him at the end, and his throat started to tighten.

Never, in his whole life, had _anyone _told him they loved him.

And then Wormmon realized why he had dreamed what he did.

_In my dream… I had a human partner._

That was what went through his mind as he slowly closed his eyes and went back to sleep… that, and his pondering why in his dream, he'd been happier than he could ever remember being.

––

**A/N: **It's weird, but as I write this I realize I'm wayyyyy more like Davis than Ken. Guess the heart wants what it wants.

Also, the game they were playing is called Buta no shippo. Also also, this is the second time I've had to learn a card game for a fanfic.


End file.
